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Friday, 4 December 2009

Hebrews 2:1

The letter now has a series of warnings. The first one is to pay careful attention to what we have heard, ie to the message of the gospel. Some people rebel openly against the gospel, but many people just drift away. They don't deliberately reject it, they just drift. Jesus told the parable of the seed, with the two groups that started off well and then died away. One died because of opposition, the other because other things in life crowded in. The gospel affects absolutely every aspect of our lives, it has implications for everything. So we need to listen carefully.

The Law was believed to have been given by angels, hence the mention here. This does not necessarily mean that the writer is confirming this view. What he is saying is that his readers knew the law was important, and that was only given by angels. How much more important is the good news given to us directly by the Son of God?

We say that people are free to accept or reject the gospel, and this is true. But it is also true that there are consequences to our decisions. Whether we accept or reject the gospel has eternal consequences. The message was initiated by the Lord Himself, and then confirmed by the apostles who had heard Him. It is further confirmed by God Himself with signs and wonders, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Bible actually knows very little about blind faith, God repeatedly provides "proof". Nor is there any conflict between miracles and the message. The Biblical pattern is that the word is preached and taught, and God confirms it by signs and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

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